Wallonia lets go of the tight deadline for its regional low-emission zone (LEZ) that was to become active on January 1st, 2023, and postpones the ban on Euro 0 and Euro I cars for two years until 2025, together with the Euro 3 cars. This means a stay of execution for 6 200 of the oldest cars registered in Wallonia, the government says.

The government followed the arguments of Minister for Environment Céline Tellier (Ecolo), who said on the news channel LN24: “In crisis times, it would be unthinkable to force people to buy a new car.” Pushing the whole timing two years further into the future also impacts the nationwide fleet of classic cars older than 30 years.

Ban on gasoline and diesel

The official website explains that the new agreement foresees a total ban on gasoline and diesel vehicles with Euro 0, 1, 2, and 3 standards from 2025. The latter applies to cars built between 01/07/1992 and 31/12/2005 and everything before that date: some 17 500 vehicles, or 0,84% of the Walloon car fleet today.

In the following stages, the ban will be extended year by year. Euro 4 in 2026 (153 800 cars or 7,03%), diesel-only Euro 5 in 2028 (191 900 or 8,39%), and diesel-only Euro 6 (233 200 or 9,73%) in 2030, with an exception for Euro 6 d-temp, today’s most efficient class.

Priority vehicles and classic cars

For the first deadline in 2025, there is an exception for priority vehicles like police cars, ambulances, fire brigade vehicles, and cars for transporting the disabled. Also, cars driving less than 3 000 km a year are exempted, which primarily applies to classic cars; the website mentions bracketed – no clarification yet on how this will be enforced exactly.

Does this mean 3 000 km driven exclusively in Wallonia, BEHVA, the Belgian Historic Vehicle Association, questions? Or does it also applies to kilometers driven elsewhere in Belgium or abroad?

If every kilometer driven anywhere counts, the obligatory Car Pass registration (two-yearly for classic cars) in Belgium could be a solution, but what about foreign vehicles?

Buying two years

For the LEZ to become effective, the Walloon government still has to issue a detailed order to implement the new law, which didn’t happen so far. By postponing the first deadline, the Walloon government now buys itself a two-year time credit to mind its p’s and q’s.

Wallonia says only 0,31% of the actual car fleet in the Region will be affected on January 1st, 2025. But figures from the Belgian car importer’s federation FEBIAC give a different view.

If you also consider the classic cars older than 30 years, it could concern more than 100 000 diesel and gasoline cars in Wallonia alone (92 192 Euro 0 and 8 730 Euro I). But it will also apply to all ‘foreign’ cars, including those from Flanders. For example, in 2020, 267 880 cars built before 1996 were registered in Belgium; 261 957 were classic cars older than 30.

No new LEZs created

Wallonia’s idea in 2020 to create municipal Low-Emission Zones (with the same restrictions as Brussels) may have been sincere intentions to improve air quality over time, but it remained a dead letter. But the idea to make the whole of the Walloon Region a LEZ from 2025 remains.

So far, no new LEZs have been created in Belgium. The Brussels Region, with its 19 municipalities, and the cities of Antwerp and Ghent are the only ones. Other plans faded away. Flanders decided last week that no diesel cars will be allowed in the low-emission zones (LEZ) of Antwerp and Ghent anymore from 2031.

It was for the first time that a date had been set by the Flemish government, although the tightening will take effect a year later than first planned. In Flanders, cities may introduce a LEZ, but the government sets the criteria. In the Brussels Region, diesel will be banned from 2030.